Conventionally, there have been systems which compute the number of times of big hit and number of games played or the payout quantity of gaming machines with an elapse of time and manage and analyze the state of each gaming machine. Summing of the data indicating the state of each one of those gaming machines has been performed to analyze the states including sales by the type of the gaming machine, or by gaming facility.
However, as important elements in management of a gaming facility, the timing for replacing old gaming machines by new gaming machines and arrangement and layout of the gaming machines, and further which gaming machines to be replaced by which new gaming machines have been generally determined by the experience of humans based on the results of the analysis mentioned above. Moreover, in order to promote replacement with new gaming machines, manufacturers who conduct changes in designs and sell the gaming machines need to design popular device types. However, designing these popular device types has been also dependent on the rule of thumb and intuitions of the planners of gaming machines.
(1) Difficulties for manufacturers who design, manufacture, and sell gaming machines in designing popular device types to design
First, a method of designing the above-mentioned known popular device type is as follows: that is, it has been conventionally a proposition to design gaming machines which sell well for manufacturers to design, manufacture, and sell gaming machines. As approaches for achieving this object, it has been a routine practice to introduce new functions or stage effects to induce a sense of expectation or to promote famous copyrights in contents that are used in gaming machines while paying a large amount of license fees. However, manufacturers themselves have intuitively or experientially determined as to whether or not the device is an excellent gaming machine; and therefore, even if these approaches are employed, the popularity of gaming machines has often superseded the manufacturers' predictions.
(2) Difficulties in selecting the type of the gaming machine seen from the local area characteristics of the gaming facility and the player playing the game
Second, a conventional method regarding the selection of game elements of gaming machines installed in the gaming facility and the determination of the timing to replace gaming machines performed by the manager of the above-mentioned gaming facility is as follows:
That is, for example, there are a variety of players' preferences for gaming machines such as differences in players' preferences depending on geographical conditions such as local area characteristics such as Las Vegas or Macao or whether or not the condition of location is near resort hotels, differences in preferences of customer categories depending on time intervals such as differences in visit time of housewives or businessmen, or differences in preferences of fixed customers (manias), unfixed customers (browsing customers), or novices (beginners), and such preferences are different depending on players. In addition, in respect of the management side of gaming facilities, requests for gaming machines that they desire to install in the gaming facilities are also different depending on the gaming facilities. For example, one gaming facility of the adjacent two gaming facilities desires to install gaming machines of such device type to stimulate gambling mind of players, whereas the other gaming facility desires to install gaming machines of such device type to enjoy the play of game over a long period of time without exerting such gambling mind. Namely, even within a same local area, the requests from the gaming facilities as to gaming machines may be different depending on management policy. Therefore, on the manufacturers' side, it is impossible to satisfy the requests of all players and gaming machines, and it is also unavoidable to design gaming machines while taking the greatest common preferences of all.
In such a present situation, in order for a gaming facility to obtain the maximal profit, the gaming facility itself must continuously install gaming machines of which device type and number is assigned in accordance with the request of that gaming facility and the preferences of players visiting the gaming facility.
However, timing of replacement with gaming machines of new device type has been conventionally determined on the basis of rule of thumb; and therefore, a difference takes place with economic efficiency related to the replacement, depending on persons who determine such replacement, and as a result, there has been apprehension that the gaming facility loses profit.
In addition, while, in a gaming machine, settings which are able to change a winning probability in a predetermined range are provided at a plurality of stages in general, these settings are often adjusted on the basis of rule of thumb; and therefore, a balance between improvement of ability to attract customers by setting a current mode to a high probability mode, the profit of the gaming facility lowers, and as a result, there has been apprehension that the gaming facility loses profit.
Further, there has been a problem that the manager in gaming facility takes preference to only improvement of one's own immediate profit against the manager's thought, highly sets a dividing number, and causes fixed customer to lose interest in shop in a long run.
Furthermore, players visiting a gaming facility vary depending on the time slot in a day, the season, the temperature, the game elements of the gaming machine installed and other factors. A management method for coping with such variation in real time as much as possible is desired.
Meanwhile, there are currently such systems that allows network connection between a gaming machine and an external game program download server, suitably selecting and downloading one game program to download from a plurality of game programs from the external game program download server, and executing a plurality of games on a single machine, not only changes in game programs, but also downloads for modifying their game contents in detail even in the same game program, for example, performing changes in denomination rates and other detailed changes in game elements have been also enabled. It has been also important how to link such a known system for changing software on a gaming machine by downloading with a method for managing gaming machines depending on the varying states mentioned above.
In Patent Document 1, there is disclosure of a management apparatus for gaming facility to sum and manage work data on pachinko gaming machines.